The South Beach Diet : The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss
Product Description
For years, cardiologist Arthur Agaston, M.D. urged his patients to lose weight for the sake of their hearts, but every diet was too hard to follow or its restrictions were too harsh. Some were downright dangerous. Nobody seemed to be able to stick with low-fat regimens for any length of time. And a diet is useless if you can’t stick with it.So Dr. Agaston developed his own. The South Beach Diet isn’t complicated, and it doesn’t require that you go hungry. You’ll enj… More >>
The South Beach Diet : The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss
I’m 52 and have had a slight to moderate weight problem my entire life (about 25 lbs.) Have been on many diets and always lost weight but never could make it a “lifestyle change”. This is so simple – I think some those who have given negative reviews are reading more into it and making it more complicated than it is. Who cares if it is a little like the Atkins diet in the first couple of weeks – at least I don’t have to do any carb calculations!! I’ve been on it for 5 weeks, have lost 12 pounds and have lost my usual cravings for candy, cookies, and chocolate. I am able to totally ignore the Krispy Kreme donuts in the employee lounge. You don’t have to eat the menu plan – those are just suggestions for people who don’t have any creativity when it comes to cooking. Just eat the things on the allowed list and don’t eat foods on the “may not eat” list and make sure you eat your snacks and eat enough at mealtime to satisfy you. Yes – once in a while I feel hungry because I’ve been too busy to eat what I should – so I just catch up by eating allowed foods. Up until now I’ve always been a “carboholic” and it’s really an odd feeling to not need that. I find the Atkins plan too complicated. I have found that most people doing the Atkins plan don’t really follow the “rules” but modify it to suit their needs, and I’ve never met anyone who has stayed on it permanently – so, to each his own!
Rating: 5 / 5
I started The South Beach Diet with Phase Two and I continue to lose weight steadily. This diet has balanced my cravings for foods high in sugar. I no longer obsess over food or when I can eat again. The South Beach Diet is not based on fads. It is not about eating a diet of fatty meat products, drinking glass after glass of water, eating expensive prepared foods, preparing time consuming recipes, counting calories or counting points. It is about eating familiar, unprocessed foods that are accessible in all grocery stores and all restaurants. Dr. Agatston has researched and developed a diet that is simple and logical. That’s why it works.
Rating: 5 / 5
I can only tell you my personal experience with this diet and you can take it from there. I have tried several diets and they never worked because you couldn’t stay on them long plus I stayed hungry all the time. I counted calories and exercised for two years and only lost 20 pounds and then stopped losing for months. With this diet, I have lost 27 pounds in 6 weeks and am still losing. The best part is that I can see myself doing this the rest of my life. The first few days is a little hard but you get excited because you will be amazed at how little you get hungry. I ate three large meals a day plus two snacks. I definitely had plenty to eat. Best part is that although I occasionaly have dessert, I don’t crave them! And like the book says – I lost weight in my belly first (I am a forty-plus year old woman). It might not work for everyone – no diet does but this one is healthy and worked for me. It’s worth a shot if nothing else has worked for you – trust me!
Rating: 5 / 5
Info below is from The Daily Dish (01/20/04) online newsletter for subscribers to http://www.southbeachdiet.com:
South Beach Diet Updates
The South Beach Diet (SBD) continues to evolve as new nutritional studies and information come out. Recently, the results of new studies have shown that some of the “foods to avoid” may not be as bad for us as the original studies on glycemic index demonstrated. There are also some new, exciting studies about the role calcium plays in weight loss. The end result is that you can continue to enjoy all of the foods recommended for the SBD-as well as adding back in a few of your favorites! Here are the major changes:
Milk:
Old Version:
Avoid all dairy in Phase 1, except for less than 2 tablespoons fat-free = and =, nonfat milk, 1 percent milk, or soy milk allowed with coffee.
New Version:
Phase 1:
Now includes low-fat milk (fat-free and 1 percent), soy milk, and yogurt (low-fat or fat-free plain or vanilla light/lite only) on the Phase 1 “foods to enjoy” list.
Phase 2:
May add light/lite fruited yogurt as a “food to enjoy” in Phase 2. Note: Since the SBD is still low in saturated fat, high-fat whole milk products will remain on the “foods to avoid” lists for all Phases.
Tomatoes:
Old Version:
Limited to one whole tomato or 10 cherry tomatoes per meal in all Phases.
New Version:
Not limited in any Phase.
Onions:
Old Version:
Limited to = per day in all Phases.
New Version:
Not limited in any Phase.
Carrots:
Old Version:
Avoid carrots in Phase 1 and 2; allowed in moderation in Phase 3.
New Version:
Allowed, starting in Phase 2.
Rating: 5 / 5
I WAS 149, 5’4” 39 yrs; Since our daughter was born 3 years ago I was just going up and up, I didn’t want to see 150!! After 6 weeks on South Beach Diet my husband and I lost 15 pounds; It was my first diet; My mother started 2 weeks earlier and lost as of today 18 pounds (after 8 wks)at 65 yrs. Mother tried many diets and liked this one a lot and the idea of following a daily menu from breakfasts to dinners & snacks; The first 2 weeks are a bit difficult but its great to see within 7 days that we are really melting! Grocery shopping cost: much higher with all those fresh veggies, spices & meats, for 2 its $50-80 more a week-we followed exactly the menus; But I heard any diet is expensive; The recipes are great but time consuming; Plus getting lunches ready for work I felt I was always in the kitchen! Today we are still following Phase 2, we like it; I sometimes borrow recipes from phase 3 dinner or we switch breakfast; We like those chocolate treats for desert too; We really liked SBD and being now at my pre-pregnancy weight I feel so much better; It worths putting the time & energy in the kitchen; The recipes are so good.
That was in 2002!
Today in 2005 after going back to 149 pounds I gave south Beach a 2nd try. I lost less, 5 pounds but I kept it down by having very ligth lunch- salads, veggie soups- and an afternoon snack -like the ones suggested in the south beach diet- and I kept the weight down after 6 months.
its a lifestyle change for life…
Rating: 4 / 5